Method and apparatus for weaving with a flat wire



J. R. PHIFER March 8, 1966 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WEAVING WITH A FLAT WIRE Filed Aug. 9, 1963 INVENTOR. JAMES B. PHJZ ZE both the warp and woof.

United States Patent O 3,238,975 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WEAVING WITH A FLAT WIRE James Reese Phifer, P.0. Box 9007, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Filed Aug. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 301,104 9 Claims. (Cl. 139-116) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for weaving with a flat wire and particularly to the subject of making insect screen wire or cloth having a flat wire woven in one direction, either the warp or woof, reducing the suns radiation and filtering out some of the glare and sunshine.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 264,499, filed March 12, 1963, entitled Woven Wire Screen, there is presented a woven wire screen cloth article of the sort produced according to the method and apparatus of the present application.

As mentioned in my above-noted co-pending application, some filter screens or glare screen of the insect cloth type employ bent metal louvers or strips inserted and locked in place by bent or twisted wire as a means of offering an impediment to the glare or radiation. These screens have certain disadvantages and are more expensive to produce than the present method and apparatus which may be installed on existing looms. The present method for making the screen or cloth shown in my copending application S.N. 264,499 may be practiced on a conventional loom and the present apparatus is one way of causing a conventional loom to produce the desired cloth.

Generally described, the present invention is presented in connection with a conventional Wire weaving bar-type loom of the sort which could produce 20 to 70 picks a minute employing shuttle bars transferring a shuttle having a round-wound bobbin of wire through the shed of the cloth. In a preferred form of the invention, the bobbins are pre-wound with a flat wire of aluminum or other material having typically a gauge not materially different from that of the round wire and serving to substitute for the conventional round wire which would be found in the conventional screen having round wires in The present method is to hold one end of the woof wire on one edge of the cloth and then to lead the flat wire from the bobbin with the vertical or perpendicular axis to the center line of the length of til 3,238,975 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 method for introducing a flat wire, such as a metal wire, into a woven wire cloth, such as insect screen.

A further object of this invention resides in the apparatus comprising a guiding means in a preferred form of a flexible rod with a bent end for introducing the flat wire into the shed of the fabric.

Another object is to provide and teach a method for weaving with a flat wire on a loom in a continuous weaving process feeding the flat wire continuously and without interruption and without altering or affecting the basic operation, speed or feed of the loom.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of part of a conventional I bar type loom showing part of the shed and loom parts flat wire in a substantially vertical position with respect to the plane of the shed and then to turn the wire 90 degrees to bring the fiat side or the flat surface of the wire into plane with and inside the shed of the fabric after which it is held and another woof wire formed in the other direction. The method may be practiced and/or the apparatus applied to other specific looms which employ a shuttle transferring a bobbin through the shed and the fiat wire wound on those other types of bobbins.

One preferred apparatus for performing the above method comprises an elongated guide wire or rod attached to the shed clamping mechanism by means of a support or similar attachment whereby the Wire may be inserted and positioned at the preferred location. One form of the guide wire or rod has a bent end adapted to guide the turning of the flat wire from the bobbin from a vertical to a horizontal position gradually to cause it to lay into the shed of the woven fabric by bringing it into alignment in a substantially flat position between the alternate warp wires and the shed. In this manner the loom performs normally and does its customary picks per minute and the flat wire is led into position and shoved to the desired spacing on a conventional loom without interfering with the normal operation thereof.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a having the present attachment mounted thereon in the form of a curved or bent wire and employing the present method of introducing fiat wires as the woof of the fabric.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along lines 44 in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, loom 10 is of conventional bar-type construction of the sort which may operate 20 to 70 picks a minute and which employs the conventional weft or longitudinal wires 12, 14 that are separated alternatively by the heddle (not shown) forming the shed 16 of the woven fabric in which are inserted flat woof wires 18 to form the conventional woof (filler or transverse wires) of the fabric, each being bent at a selvage edge 20 and returned across the shed in conventional manner of the weaving art.

Shown in FIG. 1 is the head 22 of a portion of the shed clamping mechanism 24 having a block arrangement 26 thereon which catches and brings the woof wire 18 into proper position with respect to the shed of the fabric and with respect to the preceding woof wires. A round bobbin 28 has been pre-wound with flat wire 30 by hand or by means of a machine (not shown). Bobbins 28 may be pre-wound by any desired method including hand winding or any other machine winding. Each bobbin 28 is wound with a series of concentric windings of flat wire, with the flat sides touching, much in the same manner as ordinary ribbon wound on a spool, which comes off the bobbin substantially with the transverse axis W thereof parallel with the perpendicular axis through the center of the bobbin 28. In the present method this wire is turned 90 degrees, as shown in FIGS.

2, 3 and 4, gradually through an angle of approximately 30 to 35 degrees to a horizontal lay into the shed of the fabric.

To accomplish the foregoing there is provided a block 34 having a set screw 36 therein and a through opening 38 into which is inserted the end 40 of a wire guiding means 42 comprising an elongated wire guide rod 43 of steel alloy or other material having a bent end at position 44 and terminating in a forwardly, unsupported end 46. Wire guide means 42 travels with and is controlled by the conventional movement of the apparatus 22 of the loom member 24 and is synchronized thereby with the motion of bobbin 28 across in the shed of the fabric to guide the wire 18 at the proper time to bring it into substantially parallel relationship with preceding woof wires 18 and into the horizontal position in the fabric. An example of the finished product showing the position of flat wire in the fabric with respect to the round wires 12, 14 is shown in my co-pending application mentioned hereinabove.

Other types of looms employ some mechanism such as head 22 of the mechanism 24 in the present specification for catching and guiding each woof wire and for retaining it in the selvage of the cloth until the next woof wire is brought in place and so on. The present apparatus may be applied to any of those other looms on the comparable mechanism and the present method can be practiced in this manner.

In the operation of the apparatus and the employment of the present method, reference to FIG. 1 shows that the bobbin 28 which is to be transferred in a shuttle (not shown) from the position L on the left hand side of the loom back to the position R on the other side by means of the conventional arrangement of shuttle bars and attendant structure (not shown, and which does not per se form any part of this invention). It is to be noted that the wire 18 is substantially flat, horizontal and in the proper plane in FIG. 4 and being the woof wire is part of the surface of the fabric. The wire 18 is clamped in place by any conventional clamping mechanism 24 which clamps the wire 18 in at each edge before the bobbin 28 carries the wire 18 back across the other side. The wire 18 unwinds from its wound bobbin 28 in a substantially vertical position as shown in FIG. 2 and with the opposite end of the wire 18, clamped in place at the edge, the wire is turned from the substantially vertical position at W, also shown in section lines 22 in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 2, from the vertical position to lie flat in the fabric in the manner shown substantially in FIG. 4. The wire is laid fiat through an immediate series of positions illustrated by the angle of FIG. 3 until it reaches the position of FIG. 2 at which time it is leading smoothly and easily from the winding on the bobbin 28. As the bobbin is transferred back through the shed the wire again by a rod 42 of identical construction on the opposite side of the loom is pulled into the proper position. It is to be understood that the operation of the loom itself has not been changed or effected in the slightest by the present device and the mechanism 22 for clamping the edge, which is conventional in looms, has not been altered nor has the other operation of the loom, such as the throw of the bobbin 28, been altered and this remains conventional, common structure not forming a part of this invention but being the locale and environment to which the present invention implies. Any conventional wire weaving loom which employs a conventional clamping mechanism comparable to item 22 for grasping each woof or weft wire on each edge of each pick of a bobbin, of the sort such as 28, which transfers the wire through the shed of the cloth, may be supplied with the present invention without altering or changing the basic operation of the loom but requiring only the item 42 plus the related items, such as 36, 38 and 34. Typical looms are Mummert-Dixon, Hanover, Pennsylvania; Fitz Looms, Hanover, Pennsylvania; and Kintzing Looms.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention together with various suggested operations thereof, this is by no means any sort of limitation on the scope of my invention since various alterations, substitutions, changes, deviations, eliminations, ramifications and variations may be made in the method and apparatus shown without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method for weaving a fabric with a flat wire on a loom which produces a fabric shed and which loom includes a conventional edge clamping device and a bobbin means for transferring a wire between the warp wires, which are separated on the loom, comprising grasping the fiat wire at one edge, transferring the bobbin through the shed and between the separated warp wires; leading the flat wire through the shed from the bobbin with the flat wire having the transverse axis of the flat wire leaving the bobbin at a position approximately perpendicular to the plane of the wire fabric being woven, and thereafter turning the wire approximately 90 degrees to finally moving said wire into the position in the fabric in which a long, flat side of the wire is part of the upper surface of the fabric being woven and in which the transverse axis of the fiat wire is substantially parallel with the portion of a warp wire adjacent thereto.

2. In an apparatus for attachment on a conventional loom which employs a plurality of warp wires and a conventional arrangement of a means transferring a wound bobbin to lay the woof wire in the shed of a fabric being woven, and wherein said loom has a mechanism operating in conjunction with the woof to hold one end of the wire to bring the woof wire into proper alignment and spacing,

(a) guide means on said loom against which said woof wire is pulled for bringing said woof wire into proper spacing, including a flexible guide member for guiding said fiat wire and turning same to lie properly in the shed of the fabric being woven.

3. In a method for weaving a fabric with a flat woof wire on a loom having round warp wires that are separated at times to receive the flat woof wire therebetween to make a fabric wire cloth for cloth having a lay and there being a wound bobbin with the flat wire like a ribbon spooled thereon transferred from one side of the loom to the other, said flat wire having a fiat surface and opposed longitudinal edges and there being a transverse axis substantially perpendicular to said edges, comprising: holding one end of the fiat woof wire at one edge, leading the fiat wire from the bobbin with the plane of the surface of the wire substantially 90 degrees from its ultimate position where the fiat surface of the wire forms part of the surface of the fabric and with the transverse axis of the substantially perpendicular to a fiat plane of the surface of the fabric, and thereafter turning the wire by holding said wire at one edge of the fabric and pushing against the wire to cause the wire to lie flat in the shed of the fabric being woven, and then holding that end of the wire at that edge to start a new woof wire in the other direction.

4. In a method for weaving a fabric with a flat woof wire, on a loom having warp wires that are separated at times to receive a bobbin therethrough carrying a flat wire unwinding therefrom to weave a wire cloth fabric having a lay, and there being a bobbin wound with the flat wire like a spool of ribbon transferred from. one side to the other, comprising: holding one end of the woof wire at one edge and leading the flat wire from the bobbin inside the shed like a ribbon unspooling from the spool, then turning the wire from the direction it comes off the bobbin to lie flat in the shed of the fabric being woven, and then holding that other end of the woof at the other side of the cloth starting a woof wire in the other direction.

5. In a method for weaving a fabric with a flat woof wire on a loom having round warp wires that are separated at times to receive a bobbin wound with a fiat woof wire with the fiat wire like a ribbon spooled in concentric circles thereon, transferred from one side of the loom to the other, said loom having means for clamping on each edge of the fabric, comprising:

(a) holding one end of the flat woof wire at one edge of the cloth,

(b) leading the flat wire from the bobbin with the edge of the wire substantially 90 degrees to the final position (c) passing the bobbin from the edge recited in (a), and thereafter turning the wire by twisting same by contacting the wire outside the edge in (c) by pulling against a guide to cause the wire to lie fiat in the fabric being woven, and then holding that end of the wire at that edge to start a new woof wire in the other direction.

6. In a method for weaving a fabric with a fiat woof wire on a loom having round warp wires that are separated at times to receive a bobbin therethrough and there being a wound bobbin on said loom transferred from side to side, with the fiat wire like a ribbon spooled in concentric circles thereon transferred from one side of the loom to the other, comprising:

(a) holding one end of the flat woof wire at one edge of the fabric,

(b) leading the flat wire from the bobbin with the edge of the wire substantially 90 degrees to the final position in the fabric,

(c) and thereafter contacting the surface of the wire between the bobbin and outside the edge in (b) by contacting with a means; to cause the wire to lie flat in the shed of the fabric being woven, and then holding the end of the woof wire just formed at that edge to start a new woof wire in the other direction repeating the same contact in the other direction and so on as the bobbin is moved from side to side.

7. In an apparatus for attachment on a conventional loom which employs a means having a plurality of warp wires alternately separated to receive a bobbin therethrough, and a conventional arrangement transferring flat wire wound bobbins from side to side to provide the fiat woof, and a means for holding a woof wire at each side of the fabric, and wherein said loom has a mechanism operating in conjunction with the woof to bring the woof wire into proper parallel alignment with the previous woof to give proper spacing:

(a) guide means attached with said mechanism means for holding said woof wire and in proper spacing, said guide means including a flexible and non-straight member outside each edge for guiding said flat wire and turning same to lie properly as part of the fabric being woven.

8. In an apparatus for attachment on a conventional loom which employs a means separating a plurality of warp wires to receive a bobbin carrying a flat woof Wire 6 between the warp wires, and a conventional arrangement transferring wound bobbins of flat wire to provide the woof wire, and wherein said loom has a conventional mechanism operating in conjunction with the woof to bring the woof wire into proper alignment and spacing at the edge of a fabric, and a means selectively holding each end of each respective woof wires respectively at one side,

(a) guide means attached with said mechanism and said means selectively said woof wire and in proper spacing for guiding said fiat wire and turning same to lie properly in the shed of the fabric being woven.

9. In an apparatus for attachment on a conventional loom which loom employs a means controlling a plurality of warp wires to separate them, and a conventional loom arrangement transferring wound bob-bins of flat wire to provide the woof wire, and wherein said loom has a conventional mechanism operating in conjunction with the woof to bring the woof wire into proper alignment and spacing, and the mechanism including a means on each side of the wire cloth fabric for holding a respective woof wire at that edge,

(a) guide means on said flat loom for bringing said woof wire into proper position with the flat surface forming a part of the surface of the cloth including a guide member on each side of said cloth outside the edge and contacting and guiding said flat wire as it is pulled thereagainst and turning same to lie properly in the shed of the fabric being woven.

No references cited.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

H. S. IAUDON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A METHOD FOR WEAVING A FABRIC WITH A FLAT WIRE ON A LOOM WHICH PRODUCES A FABRIC SHED AND WHICH LOOM INCLUDES A CONVENTIONAL EDGE CLAMPING DEVICE AND A BOBBIN MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING A WIRE BETWEEN THE WARP WIRES, WHICH ARE SEPARATED ON THE LOOM, COMPRISING GRASPING THE FLAT WIRE AT ONE EDTE, TRANSFERRING THE BOBBIN THROUGH THE SHED AND BETWEEN THE SEPARATE WARP WIRES; LEADING THE FLAT WIRE THROUGH THE SHED FROM THE BOBBIN WITH THE FLAT WIRE HAVING THE TRANSVERSE AXIS OF THE FLAT WIRE LEAVING THE BOBBIN AT A POSITION APPROXIMATELY PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF THE WIRE FABRIC BEING WOVEN, AND THEREAFTER TURNING THE 